You can't eat there just once!

"I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best." - Oscar Wilde


I live in London, a city of over 350,000 inhabitants who are catered to by hundreds of restaurants, bistros, and eateries representing cuisines from all around the globe. Although I rarely dine out, this week I had the delightful opportunity to do so - not once, but twice. And I chose the same restaurant both times!

"The Vietnam Restaurant" is located on Dundas Street, right across from the enormous Kellogg factory. And with a massive landmark like this, it's easy to remember just where to find it.

This restaurant can be found in an unglamorous part of the city, in a rather industrial neighbourhood. The front of the building is nondescript, the signage quite plain. But when you walk through the extremely modest front door, you will breathe in the tantalizing scents of warm, spicy Asian dishes and your taste buds will begin to dance in anticipation.

When you walk in, you will no doubt be greeted by the friendly owner, an originally Vietnamese gentleman who has worked hard and put all of his children through university here in Canada. He has smiled warmly and welcomed me every time I have been there - no matter what the day or the time. I'm sure he has a home, but it seems unlikely that he spends much time there.

Once your senses have taken in the incredible aromas, your focus can then shift to the decor which is, well, rather outlandish and yet plain at the same time. The tables and chairs are simple and understated and arranged in perfectly ordinary rows. But the walls are painted in a shocking "Pepto-Bismol" pink and here and there will find gold-coloured frescoes of ancient Asian elephants marching the troops off to a faraway war. (When my young son first saw this, his comment was, "Wow! Now, who wouldn't love this??")

As soon as you are seated, you will be presented with a pot of hot green tea and enough tiny cups to go around. As well, you will be given a very extensive menu with each dish nicely described, and a book of photos of some of the more popular dishes which can be quite helpful. You will then write down the numbers of your chosen dishes on a slip of paper and then the menus and photos will be swept up and your choices delivered swiftly to the kitchen.

You can then sip away at your tea and chat with your dinner mate(s) while waiting for the succulent dishes to appear. It is hard to wait, but the reward is great. Everything I have ever seen looks wonderful. The food is presented in a very appealing fashion, without being at all pretentious.

My very favourite dish is the "spicy rice noodles with tofu and vegetables". The rice noodles are cooked perfectly, the tofu is cooked beautifully as well, and the dish contains lots of other thinly sliced veggies, crispy bean sprouts, and crunchy chopped peanuts - all coated with the most tasty, spicy peanut sauce which delights the palate with layer upon layer of flavour. It also comes with a slice of fresh lime which, when lightly squeezed over the noodles, really brings out a "popping" brightness to the dish.

I always eat this meal with chopsticks because it tastes so much better that way. I always have plenty to eat, and I invariably leave with a takeaway box for the next day's lunch. And all this for less than ten bucks.

I would encourage anyone to dine at "The Vietnam Restaurant", but if you don't happen to live in this area, this is a dish you should definitely try at home.

This is an easy, economical, nutritious, and tasty dish to make and the flavours will transport you to another part of the world. I was searching around to find a great recipe that would incorporate all of the above adjectives and I found the perfect one in the most unusual spot.

And I think when you see the website this recipe came from, you will understand why it seemed to be clearly the very best choice.

Cheers!

Diane

This week's photo and recipe are courtesy of "Kellogg" - thank you!

http://www.specialk.co.uk/recipes/28337_spicy-tofu-pad-thai.aspx